NASCAR set to release updated 2020 schedule
By Asher Fair
NASCAR is reportedly set to reveal a portion of the updated 2020 schedule today, with a return set for mid-May at Darlington Raceway.
The 2020 NASCAR season, like most sports seasons, has been at a standstill in recent weeks as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. There has been no real-life action since the Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, March 8. This was the fourth race on the schedule.
Eight of the 36 Cup Series races, six of the 33 Xfinity Series races and five of the 23 Truck Series races on the schedule have been postponed.
However, according to Autoweek, NASCAR reportedly revealed an updated potential schedule to teams earlier this week. This schedule was only a short-term schedule that spanned from Sunday, May 17 to Sunday, June 14.
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According to this schedule, the Cup Series is set to return to action on Sunday, May 17 at Darlington Raceway with what is slated to be the first of eight races during this 29-day span.
There had initially only been four races scheduled to be contested during this span, meaning that the Cup Series race total would jump back up from 28 to 32 under this new schedule. But given the fact that there were three races on this new schedule that were not previously scheduled, this would leave seven tracks without scheduled race dates (although six of the seven host two races per year) and vying for four other race spots to get the race total back up to the goal of 36.
This short-term schedule has not been confirmed. But that is slated to change later today, according to Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern.
.@NASCAR is planning to release the first chunk of the revised 2020 schedule tomorrow, with the first race back still slated for Darlington.
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) April 30, 2020
➖ Meanwhile, as teams prepare for new safety protocols, many are in the process of purchasing PPE, including hundreds of masks. pic.twitter.com/2jOQEYYkUu
Whether or not this entire eight-race schedule is in line with what the teams were provided earlier this week remains to be seen, although it is still expected that the four-turn, 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometer) oval in Darlington, South Carolina will host the next race.
But this schedule is also believed to feature race dates for other NASCAR series, not just the Cup Series. Xfinity Series, Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series races are believed to be factored in.
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It looks as though NASCAR is heading in the right direction to get the 2020 season back underway, even if this schedule is only for the short-term future. Additional changes will naturally need to be made beyond a schedule that runs through Sunday, June 14 and causes additional tracks to lose their previously scheduled race dates, but a return within the next few weeks would be a great start.